Toshio Maeda
Encyclopedia
is a controversial erotic manga artist
who was most prolific in the 1980s and 90s. Several of Maeda's works have been used as a basis for Original Video Animation
s (OVA) including the well known La Blue Girl
, Adventure Kid
, Demon Beast Invasion
, Demon Warrior Koji and his most famous work, Urotsukidōji
(Legend of the Overfiend). One interviewer commented that Urotsukidōji "firmly placed him in the history books - in Japan and abroad - as the pioneer of the genre known as hentai
, or perverted".
, Spider-Man
and Batman
. He was also a reader of all genres of literature and has said that he read more than 10,000 books before he was 20 years old. At 16 he left Osaka
to go to Tokyo
as an assistant to a professional cartoonist. He became interested in manga for adults to avoid all the strictures, sexual, political and religious, that were placed on manga for children.
Maeda's groundbreaking work, Urotsukidōji
, came out in 1986 and it has been claimed that "No other title apart from Akira
has been so influential in the English-language market." Maeda was working for an adult magazine and wanted to create something different than the usual everyday life erotic tale.
Maeda is credited with the proliferation of the tentacle rape
genre mostly on the reputation of the animated versions of his manga. But he did not implement the use of the "tentacle" as an erotic device until the 1989 Demon Beast Invasion
. Even though his most famous work, Urotsukidoji, is credited as being the first tentacle rape manga it was only in the anime
version that tentacle rape was featured. Maeda has explained that since portraying genitals was illegal in Japan, artists would use any trick they could to get by the censors and he could say that a creature's tentacle was not a penis. Maeda is proud of his role in popularizing the genre and in a blog interview stated that he would like "Tentacle Master" inscribed on his tombstone.
Maeda was a Guest of Honor at the Big Apple Anime Fest
(BAAF) held in New York City
in October 2001. He was acclaimed as "the most influential erotic manga artist in Japan" and his masterpiece Urotsukidoji was described as " the foundation for the entire 'erotic-grotesque' genre of Japanese anime". Maeda was the Keynote Speaker at the BAAF Symposium and introduced a retrospective of his work.
A motorbike accident in 2001 left Maeda with limited ability in his drawing hand but he continued to use his computer to create characters and write scripts. In 2003, he was planning his contributions to a Japanese woman's hentai magazine and learning to look at eroticism from a woman's point of view.
It should not be ignored that Maeda has done just as much sex comedy
and BDSM
-themed manga stories as erotic horror and even a few books perfectly suited for and targeted at younger readers. Early in his career, with the likes of Evil Spirit Island and Ashita-e Kick Off, he only provided the illustrations while someone else wrote the text for the manga.
As of September 2010, Toshio Maeda has opened his official website, with the Tentacle club, where users can sign up and view his full length manga for a small monthly fee of 500 yen. Toshio has also made the opportunity available to the public to come stay at his apartment and have the opportunity to discuss manga, anime and Japan in general with him, over a beer for a small fee, together with a tour of Akihabara and various otaku hot spots in Tokyo
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
who was most prolific in the 1980s and 90s. Several of Maeda's works have been used as a basis for Original Video Animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
s (OVA) including the well known La Blue Girl
La Blue Girl
is an erotic anime and manga series.Based on the manga by Toshio Maeda, the La Blue Girl anime, like his other hentai series , features a large amount of tentacle rape...
, Adventure Kid
Adventure Kid
is an erotic manga series by Toshio Maeda, which was adapted into a 1993 original video animation . In one VHS release the alternate name Adventure Duo was used because it was believed parents might buy it for their children by mistake without realizing the explicit violent sexual content and...
, Demon Beast Invasion
Demon Beast Invasion
is a manga series written and illustrated by Toshio Maeda, published by Wani Magazine. The series was adapted into a six-part original video animation of the same name in 1990, followed by in 1995.- Plot :...
, Demon Warrior Koji and his most famous work, Urotsukidōji
Urotsukidoji
is a Japanese manga and an Original Video Animation releases.-History:Urotsukidōji was created by Toshio Maeda, in 1986, and was a huge departure from his earlier works in that it mixed erotica with humor, and the supernatural...
(Legend of the Overfiend). One interviewer commented that Urotsukidōji "firmly placed him in the history books - in Japan and abroad - as the pioneer of the genre known as hentai
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
, or perverted".
Life and career
Maeda was self-taught about manga, having been a voracious reader of comics since he was 5 or 6 years old, including American comics such as Mighty MouseMighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse is an animated superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox.-History:The character was created by story man Izzy Klein as a super-powered housefly named Superfly. Studio head Paul Terry changed the character into a cartoon mouse instead...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. He was also a reader of all genres of literature and has said that he read more than 10,000 books before he was 20 years old. At 16 he left Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
to go to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as an assistant to a professional cartoonist. He became interested in manga for adults to avoid all the strictures, sexual, political and religious, that were placed on manga for children.
Maeda's groundbreaking work, Urotsukidōji
Urotsukidoji
is a Japanese manga and an Original Video Animation releases.-History:Urotsukidōji was created by Toshio Maeda, in 1986, and was a huge departure from his earlier works in that it mixed erotica with humor, and the supernatural...
, came out in 1986 and it has been claimed that "No other title apart from Akira
Akira (manga)
is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil. Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha...
has been so influential in the English-language market." Maeda was working for an adult magazine and wanted to create something different than the usual everyday life erotic tale.
Maeda is credited with the proliferation of the tentacle rape
Tentacle rape
is found in some horror or hentai titles, with tentacled creatures having sexual intercourse with female characters. The genre is popular enough in Japan that its occasionally even the subject of parody. In recent years, Japanese and Asian films of this genre have become more common in the United...
genre mostly on the reputation of the animated versions of his manga. But he did not implement the use of the "tentacle" as an erotic device until the 1989 Demon Beast Invasion
Demon Beast Invasion
is a manga series written and illustrated by Toshio Maeda, published by Wani Magazine. The series was adapted into a six-part original video animation of the same name in 1990, followed by in 1995.- Plot :...
. Even though his most famous work, Urotsukidoji, is credited as being the first tentacle rape manga it was only in the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
version that tentacle rape was featured. Maeda has explained that since portraying genitals was illegal in Japan, artists would use any trick they could to get by the censors and he could say that a creature's tentacle was not a penis. Maeda is proud of his role in popularizing the genre and in a blog interview stated that he would like "Tentacle Master" inscribed on his tombstone.
Maeda was a Guest of Honor at the Big Apple Anime Fest
Big Apple Anime Fest
The Big Apple Anime Fest was an anime convention which was held annually between 2001 and 2003 and supported by a consortium of anime and manga companies.-Event history:-Cancellations:...
(BAAF) held in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in October 2001. He was acclaimed as "the most influential erotic manga artist in Japan" and his masterpiece Urotsukidoji was described as " the foundation for the entire 'erotic-grotesque' genre of Japanese anime". Maeda was the Keynote Speaker at the BAAF Symposium and introduced a retrospective of his work.
A motorbike accident in 2001 left Maeda with limited ability in his drawing hand but he continued to use his computer to create characters and write scripts. In 2003, he was planning his contributions to a Japanese woman's hentai magazine and learning to look at eroticism from a woman's point of view.
It should not be ignored that Maeda has done just as much sex comedy
Sex comedy
Sex comedy is a term for comedy movies with sexual content usually referring to those made in the United Kingdom in the mid 1970s. They may range from comic pornographic films like the Confessions series to relatively innocent comedies that include jokes about sex and other sexual related humour,...
and BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
-themed manga stories as erotic horror and even a few books perfectly suited for and targeted at younger readers. Early in his career, with the likes of Evil Spirit Island and Ashita-e Kick Off, he only provided the illustrations while someone else wrote the text for the manga.
As of September 2010, Toshio Maeda has opened his official website, with the Tentacle club, where users can sign up and view his full length manga for a small monthly fee of 500 yen. Toshio has also made the opportunity available to the public to come stay at his apartment and have the opportunity to discuss manga, anime and Japan in general with him, over a beer for a small fee, together with a tour of Akihabara and various otaku hot spots in Tokyo
External links
- Toshio Maeda Official website (contains the original Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend manga, La Blue Girl manga, as well as all Maedas other works)
- PRISMS